Honda HRC’s Ruben Fernandez capped off a solid day of action at the sandy KymiRing near Kouvola, Finland to finish fourth in qualification and give himself a good gate-pick for tomorrow’s GP-scoring motos.
A seventh in free practice showed that he wasn’t too far off the top guys, which then improved to sixth in timed practice. A great start on his Honda CRF450R then put him in the battle for the podium spots as he rounded the first couple of laps inside the top three. Unfortunately, a small mistake on lap three cost him a position, and although he was able to close back up to the rider in third, he couldn’t make the pass and instead had to settle for fourth. Those seven points have meant that the gap to third in the MXGP championship standings is now just 21 points, so he has good momentum and more riding like that could really make it close for the final third of the season.
While the number #70 got to grips with the sandy terrain of this brand-new circuit, MX2 rider Valerio Lata struggled all day to find the speed necessary to challenge with the best 250cc riders in the world. The young Italian is coming off an injury at the previous round in Great Britain but would still have hoped to be much nearer to the top 10 positions in all three of today’s sessions. Instead, a finishing position of 15th leaves the #18 with a lot of work to do if he wants to score some good points and head into another weekend off with a bit more confidence.
Although there is potential for rain to hit the circuit tonight. The sandy terrain should be able to cope with anything that drops on the facility, so the riders should expect similar conditions for the two longer motos, where a maximum of 50 points are at stake.
MX2 Qualification Race
- Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 23:51.073; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:06.407; 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:12.197; 4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:13.841; 5. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:16.337; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:28.847; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:29.626; 8. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:53.339; 9. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), +0:54.748; 10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:56.883; … 15. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +1:33.103;
Ruben Fernandez 70
It was a good day, on what is a fast but tricky track. Any mistakes can be costly here because the track is so fast, but I feel like my speed is good and if I can minimise any errors, a podium is within my grasp. It was also nice to be riding in sunshine so hopefully we get more of that tomorrow.
Valerio Lata 18
I’m definitely not happy with how things went today. I wasn’t comfortable with the track and just couldn’t find any rhythm or flow out there. It was nice to get a good start in the qualification race, but I need to ride better tomorrow and challenge inside the top 10 because right now that wasn’t good enough.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
HRC General Manager – MXGP
It is a new experience for everyone here at the KymiRing and overall it has been positive. It is a nice setup, with the paddock on the tarmac, similar to tracks like Qatar and Assen, which has been helped by the weather, which has been good today. Ruben has shown good speed in all three sessions, and we are hopeful he can keep that going tomorrow and close the points gap to third place in the championship even more. Valerio hasn’t been on the pace though, so we need to try and help him as much as possible and get him inside the top 10 because he isn’t looking himself right now.
Qualifying Race
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 10 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 23:35.419
2 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 9 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:09.363
3 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 8 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:18.094
4 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 7 Honda HRC – MXGP 0:28.816
5 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 6 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:34.579
6 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 5 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:40.506
7 Sterry Adam 811 GBR 4 KTM Kozak Team 0:43.415
8 van Doninck Brent BEL 3 0:46.423
9 Watson Ben 919 GBR 2 MRT Racing Team Beta 0:49.576
10 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 1 Ducati Factory MX Team 0:52.025
11 Forato Alberto 303 ITA 0 Honda SR Motoblouz 0:53.122
12 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 0 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:54.614
13 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 0 Ducati Factory MX Team 1:06.454
14 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 0 Honda SR Motoblouz 1:08.146
15 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 0 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:10.800
16 Koch Tom 226 GER 0 MRT Racing Team Beta 1:12.669
17 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 0 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team 1:16.460
18 Varjonen Miro 248 FIN 0 Wildcard Rider 1:48.895
19 Pumpurs Mairis 610 LAT 0 Wildcard Rider 1 lap
20 Nissinen Pekka 29 FIN 0 Wildcard Rider 1 lap
Rider Standings
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team
1 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 589 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
2 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 562 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
3 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 411 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
4 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 390 Honda HRC – MXGP
5 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 347 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
6 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 328 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
7 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 325 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
8 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 320 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
9 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 305 Honda HRC – MXGP
10 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 275 Ducati Factory MX Team
11 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 229 Honda SR Motoblouz
12 Watson Ben 919 GBR 199 MRT Racing Team Beta
13 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 192 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team
14 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 190 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
15 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 173 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
16 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 162 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
17 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 149 JK Racing Yamaha Active
18 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 142 Ducati Factory MX Team
19 van de Moosdijk Roan 34 NDL 113 KTM Kozak Team
20 van Doninck Brent BEL 77
21 Guillod Valentin 92 SWI 72 Wildcard Rider
22 Sterry Adam 811 GBR 71 KTM Kozak Team
23 Koch Tom 226 GER 57 MRT Racing Team Beta
24 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 50 Wildcard Rider
25 Forato Alberto 303 ITA 44 Honda SR Motoblouz
26 Stauffer Marcel 411 AUT 38 Wildcard Rider
27 Cairoli Antonio 222 ITA 37 Ducati Factory MX Team
28 Spies Maximillian GER 36
29 Gilbert Josh GBR 27
30 Tondel Cornelius 17 NOR 20 JWR Honda Racing
